"Greeting cards have all been sent, and thank goodness you licked the envelopes, Darling"... Wait, that's not quite right! Let's listen again...
"Greeting cards have all been sent, and thank goodness you licked the Darling envelopes..." Still sounds wrong, right? But in this case it is right- since the holiday greeting inside this matchbook actually comes from the Darling Envelope Corporation, once located right here in the KC Matchgirl's hometown. Their envelopes may have been darling, but their competitor, Tension Envelope, had the larger facility just a few blocks away and eventually bought out the corporation in 1999.
This swinging 60's Santa was a stock design for the Lion Match Corporation, which also had a location in KC, MO when this book was produced. This style was easily customized by printing the inside cover with a company logo and address.
The usually benevolent Santa seems a little stingy with his greeting though, only offering Darling's clients a "Happy Holiday". If he has only included an "s", New Year's happiness could have been offered as well.
Note: The Darling Envelope Corporation was located at 2018 Washington Ave. This 40 count front-strike cover can be dated prior to 1973. 2018 Washington currently houses an employment agency.
